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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 12, 1900)
THE MORNING- OREGONIAN, SATTODAY, MAY 12, 1900. Jtetered tX the Postofflce at Portlaad. Oregon, m second-class matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial RooE3....iee I Buiines Office.. 667 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION BATES. Br Moil lpoUre prepaid), la Advance Dally, with Sunday, per month. .......$0 85 Daily, Sunday excepted, per year ........ ? CO Daily, with Sunday, per year.... ......... 0 00 Sunday, per year ......................... 2 00 The Weekly, per year ................ 1 50 The "Weekly. S months.... ........ . 60 o City Subscribers Sally, per week, delivered. Sundays exoepled.l5e Doily, per week, delivered. Sundays includeL2Da Xewe or discussion Intended for publication In The Oregoalan should be addressed Invariably "Editor The Oreronlnn. not to the name of any Individual- Letters relating to advertising, subscriptions or to any business matter should toe addressed simply "The Oregonlan." The OreccnUn does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn, any manuscripts sent to It without solicita tion. No stamps should be Inclosed for this purpose. Pnget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, cdos at 1111 Pacific avenue. Tacomi. Box 9SZ, Tacoma postofflce. Xaetern Business Office The Tribune build ing; New Tork city; "The Rookery." Chicago; the S. C Beckwith spectel agency. New Tork. Jfcr sale In San Francisco by J. K. Cooper, 76 Market street, near the Palace hotel, and 4 Goldsmith Bros.. 2S6 Sutter street. For sale in Chics by the- P. O. News Co 11 7 Dearborn street. TODAY'S WEATHER. Partly cloudy, with occasional light showers; warmer during tha afternoon; westerly Minds. PORTLAND, SATCRDAT, MAY 12. Tho Pendleton East Oregonlan re marks that an utterance unfavorable to Senator Hanna, In the columns of the Portland Telegram, was "proba bly" made "for the purpose of creating the Impression that it is an independ ent sheet." The editor of the East Ore gonlan is too intelligent a man not to know that when he implies that The Oregonlan does not criticise Hanna and supports his political methods, he snakes an implication which every reader of The Oregonlan knows to be Tintrue. He cannot plead ignorance. He knows it is untrue. Is the neces sity for barking at The Oregonian's heels so imperative that a paper pro fessing Intelligence and respectability must descend to such palpable mis representation? There is clearly a strong and repu table element at Forest Grove that is .not at all satisfied with the verdict of the Coroner's jury In the Hatch case, and with what is considered the arbi trary action of the Coroner in refusing or neglecting, as non-essential, to make a more searching Investigation of the . relations between the deceased and the man i ho last saw her alive. There ap pears to be some grounds for this dis satisfaction, which thus far the Coroner has failed to clear away. The ends of justice and the guarantee for sacred ness of human life are to be served by thorough probing of so-called mys teries, and not by tempering the law to & man because he Is eminently respect able and worth $40,000. Lord Roberts has crossed the Zand Hlver and reached Venterburg Road, which is but 22 miles distant from Kroonstad, the Boer headquarters, so that he has moved his whole army ure than seventy-five miles since he l-d from Bloemfonteln. on the 2d HSIThis is a remarkable week's work. Thus far his advance progresses favorably, so that, if his transport does not break down, he should be in front of Pretoria by the middle of June. The Boers show no signs of being able to make a resolute stand this side of Pre toria. If the report be true that the Boers are retiring from their position in the Blggarsberg mountains in Natal, followed by the advance of General Buller's army, then It Is probable there "will be no stand of consequence made this side of the Vaal River. Once the Boers concentrate in the Transvaal, the beginning of the end will be in sight. The campaign Is now entering on its last and most critical stage. General Hunter on his way to Maf eking, and General Buller before Biggarsberg will soon find their front relieved from the presence of the enemy, for In order to resist the pressure of Lord Roberts' main army the Boers will be obliged to call in all their outlying forces and coucertrate on the Vaal to stop, If pos sible, the advance to Pretoria. From the urging which It takes to in duce voters to register as a necessary preliminary to the exercise of the free man's right on election day, one would naturallj suppose that this right Is held lightly or at best is regarded as a disagreeable duty, to be shirked if pos s.ble, rather than a glorious privilege tg be enjoj ed. This, however, is not, to uy con Uerab'e extent, the case. Men Pe careless al.out registration ivho. if 'iej supposed that their rlcht to vot on cl-ctlcn day would be questioned, would be found on the fighting line, ready to do battle in support of their claims t j the ballot as free born or duly naturaliz d American citizens. This matter of putting off until the last minute hat one fully Intends to do In good time is a fault in the training of American youth. A go-as-you-please citizenship is a part of a go-as-you-please life that insists upon choosing its own time and place. Dilatoriness in pajing taxes Is supposed to repre sent a repugnance to taxpaying and a desire to avoid It. May not the dila toriness of voters in registering place the supposed tax-shirkers in the light merely of the independent American citizen, who prides himself upon never cemg anj thing on compulsion? nberculosis continues to lead In thft Rises of death In this city, as In most lers of the country. Science hns lade many discoveries in resrard to rthis disease and its nature within the aast few years, but it stands power ing -at tne door of remedy, drawing lTJie great sea of Investigation lit erally nothing for the restoration to health of those whose lungs have been Invaded by the deadly bacillus of the malady. Bejond the warning, "Resist Its beginnings." science has little to suggest to those who dwell under the menace of the relentless scourge. The report a year ago that a large number of persons in the suburbs of the city and at various points easy of Access to this market were going into the poultry business in a small way caused the prediction of an oversupply In poultry products that would run prices down to figures that would leave ie producer no margin for profit. The mistake In this estimate is shown in the fact that fresh eggs are 15 to 17 cents a. dozen, while broilers, about the size, -when dressed, of good, plump robins, KC S5 cents apiece. Freh eggs have not been less than 12 cents a dozen, retail, in this market this Spring, and chickens for the table have been corre spondingly high. Now even old hens have been withdrawn from the market for setting, and the supply of roosters of last Fall's hatching Is not large. From these facts, it is evident that there is no danger of a glut in the poul try market of this city, and that if there is not money in the poultry busi ness, it is because those who engage in it do not know bow to manage it. THE GOLD MOVEMENT. Gold is going abroad In considerable volume, and Incidentally the Treasury's holdings are suffering impairment. On March IS the gold reserve in the Treas ury stood at 1243,000,000. The reform bill of March 14 withdrew $150,000,000 ot this for a constant reserve, leaving $93,000,000 or thereabouts on hand in free gold holdings. "From that time on the dally statement shows these gold holdings, exclusive of the fixed reserve of $150,000,000. At first there was an Increase in the free gold, which amounted to nearly $100,000,000 at one time, but for seven weeks there has been a decline. Its progress is shown in the table: Free gold In Treasury. March 24 $99,000,000 March 21 88.000.000 April C 07.000.000 April 10 04.000,003 April 14 00.000.000 April 20 83.000.000 April 23 81,000.000 May 1 79,000.000 May5 77.800.000 May 9 77.000,000 May 11 7C.000.000 The near approach of a Presidential election, and the practical certainty that Bryan and free coinage of silver will make one of the two alternatives put before voters, may account for a very small part of this phenomena. The prospect of Bryan's election is re mote, and it is doubtful what he could do to overthrow the standard; but such effect as that prospect and that con tingency have upon the financial situ ation arein no other direction than toward the expulsion of gold from cir culation through domestic hoarding and export abroad. The election of a free-silver President could not fall to exert a very profound deleterious effect upon confidence, both In Europe and here at home. Everybody who owned a dollar, whether millionaire or laborer with a slender savings bank deposit, would feel that perhaps his money would be safer out of the bank than in, and every foreign investor in American securities would begin to wonder whether he ought not to sell while he could sell to advantage. It is not fair, however, to ascribe this gold movement to the menace of Bryanlsm, so long as other explana tions are more natural. The most at tractive theory is that we are lending gold abroad because we have more than we need, and because Europe will pay more hire for its use than it can earn at home. Money is high in Eu rope and easy in New Tork. "We have had more gold than we absolutely re quired. The circulation being denied relief through profitable bank Issues, recourse has been had to gold, both through mining operations and through imports. The reform bill has supplied a moderate volume of bank notes, based on gold, and the gold is released for more profitable employment. It is one of the incidental benefits of the gold-standard bill that it releases gold from inordinate accumulation in the Treasury and enables it to go out into the world to earn something, while bank notes do its work with perfect facility. For its enactment the Repub lican party deserves support. Every man has the choice to tender that sup port or to aid the party whose triumph will send the gold into hiding and with draw foreign Investment from Ameri can enterprises. Gratitude, perhaps, cannot be looked for, but men may at least be expected to consult ther self interest. A REMOTE EMERGENCY. The influx of a swarm of timber buyers from the exhausted forests of the EasV and numerous sales of im mense tracts of timber land in the Northwest, are causing some concern as to the ultimate depletion of our own forest reserves. In California, a state which, except for redwood, does not cut much figure In the world's supply of timber, the papers are advising us to place a heavy export bounty on lum ber. In the light of past experience, this seems hardly necessary at present, for in spite of the great activity in the timber and lumber business, the man ufactured product is cheaper today than It was twenty-five years ago, when all of the logs needed could be felled within a few feet of the water courses by which they were floated to the mills. In Michigan, "Wisconsin and Minnesota, which have supplied build ing material for thousands of cities of marvelous growth within a compara tively short space of time, heavy drafts have been made on the supply of stand ing timber. The settler's ax and brush fires have also assisted materially in reducing the standing timber In that section, the clearings 5f the farmers growing with greater rapidity there than they-ever will In the more rugged lands of the Pacific Northwest. "With all of our wealth of timber, on which as yet but scanty" Inroads have been made, the Pacific Northwest can not yet meet the competition of the At lantic and Gulf timber districts in the big lumber trade of the east coast of South America. Over a generation ago, in fact, half a century ago, the "deer-haunted forests of Maine" were supplying cargoes for these ports, and they are still doing the same business, very few Pacific Coast cargoes ever getting round the Horn to South America's Atlantic ports. The lumber trade with Europe from the Pacific Northwest Is increasing, but It is still largely confined to special stock, such as cannot be secured in any other local ity. A singular anomaly is presented in the lumber situation in the Pacific Northwest today. As previously stated, 1 lumber Is cheaper than It was twenty five years ago. and at the same time logs are higher proportionately than they were in the early days of the In dustry. This condition of affairs is a tribute to the marvelous genius of the sawmill-builders. The steady Introduc tion of modern machinery In the mills has gradually increased the amount of merchantable product that could be ob tained from a log, and at the same' time has reduced the cost of placing this product on car or ship. In the woods a proportionate reduction could bardly be made, as the cost under old methods Increased very rapidly as soon as log gers were obliged to go batik from the banks of the streams for their logs. The days of the band-logger are over, however, and even the bull team is being crowded aside by the donkey en gine, the tram road and flume, which bring logs from the recesses of the for est many miles from water, and dump them where the towboats or railroads can reach them. "With such facilities for reaching our timber and placing it on the market, vast tracts which twenty-five years ago were deemed inacces sible are now available, and they are so great in extent that none of the present generation will live to witness their complete depletion. Oregon, "Washington and British Columbia .have no timber to waste, but they can sup ply the world for many years, and good, merchantable lumber will be obliged to sell for more than $10 per thousand In the Portland market before it will be necessary to place an export bounty on it. TOWXE". Towne's nomination for the Vice Presidency by the Populists presages similar action by both the Democrats and Sliver Republicans. The Sioux Falls Populist convention was a mere Democratic side-show, a formal curtain-raiser to the main event scheduled for July 4, at Kansas City. It was en gineered from first to last by the Dem ocratic machine, directed by the mas terful hand of Bryan. Towne was made his co-nominee because Bryan di rected it. The Democratic convention will yield to the imperial Bryan dictum because it has no choice but to think as Bryan thinks and do as Bryan says it shall do. The Silver Republicans will follow suit because that is what they are there for. Towne is a noisy echo of Bryan. He Imitates the Bryan methods, adopts the Bryan arguments, and is a statesman out of a job, but diligently hunting for one, Just as bis Nebraska prototype is. Towne is an orator of the flashy sort, superficial, plausible, sophistical, and exceedingly fluent. He affects the ar gumentative, and makes showy pre tense of a mastery of logic and of a fa miliarity with sociology and political economy. He is energetic, self-confident, and combative, and he seeks to convince by a copious shower of words. He falls short of Bryan in ease, unc tuousness and personal attractiveness. but he is withal a fair understudy and a faithful Imitator of his great princi pal. Candidate Towne was once a Repub lican. He was elected to Congress from the Duluth district. Minnesota, in 1S94, and made a notable silver speech that was effectually answered by Represent ative McCleary, of the same state. Towne was the originator of the wheat silver chart, afterwards adopted by "W. C. ('"Wheat-Chart") Jones in "Washing ton, Its purpose being to show the SI-amese-twln-like relation of the two commodities. He was a delegate to the National Republican Convention in 189G, walked out with Teller, and be came chairman of the National Silver Republican Committee, and an ardent supporter- of Bryan. Becoming the Bryanlte candidate for Congress, in his Duluth district, he was defeated by Pago Morris in 1S96 and iS9S, and he therefore retired from public life at the close of his first and only term, and became peripatetic silver, propagandist and orator-at-large. He came to the Northwest about two years ago, and sprung his more or less well-known trick questions. He has been pretty much everywhere else about the coun try since that time. Orator Towne has always proclaimed himself a "Silver" Republican a term he has recently made cheap effort to transpose to "Lincoln" Republican. Now he Is a Populist. Two months hence he will be a Democrat. Explain ing his varied positions to an inter viewer In Chicago last week, he said: I am at one with Mr. Bryan, not only on the silver question, but I believe In the Chicago platform. On the protection ls?uo I nave al ways been a Republican la the Abraham Lin coln sense; that Is, that If you are raising hun dreds of millions by customs duties you should look out for the effect on your own people. But I am not a protectionist la the latter-day Republican sense, which means the making of trusts and monopolies by tariff. The Chicago-platform Popocrat mas querading as the Abraham Lincoln Re publican is a somewhat original polit ical phenomenon, though we have lately seen and heard much of him. If Mr. Towne Is so firm and enthusias tic a fellow of the advanced Bryan Democracy, the question may fairly be asked why he has hesitated so long to "go the whole hog" and embrace the faith. The answer probably is that he hoped to railroad himself through the Populist and Silver Republican conven tions Into the Democratic nomination for the Vice-Presidency an empty honor that men like Bryan and Towne seem somehow to make profitable. ASPECTS OP BRITISH! FEDERATION. It' is clear that the Boer war is to have a far-reaching Influence beyond what was anticipated at the outset, be cause of the military assistance which Great Britain has received from the colonies. The discussion of this ques tion by the Canadian press and by her leading statesmen has already begun, and there Is the same division of opin ion as to its consequences In Canada as there Is In Great Britain. The Lon don Times thinks that the colonies were actuated by patriotic generosity in prompt tender of military assistance to the mother country, without any inten tion of ever demanding a commercial quid pro quo in shape of a preference for their products in the markets of the mother country. The British Govern ment would hardly have accepted the tender of military assistance from Can ada upon such Implied condition, for the Salisbury Ministry considered It had done enough for the colonies when It consented to cancel the commercial treaties with Germany and Belgium, which was done In spite of the argu ment of Lord RIpon, who, when Secre--tary for the Colonies, always Insisted that England's trade with these two foreign countries was of much more value to her than her trade with the colonics. Nevertheless, these treaties were denounced on the plea that some sacrifice should be made for the pur pose of encouraging tho growth of Im perialistic sentiment, and that England would be considerably compensated for the loss of traffic with Germany and Belgium by the preference which her manufacturers would obtain in the co lonial markets. The treaties were there fore abrogated, and Germany and Bel gium can no longer send their products to the British colonies on terms identi cal with those on which similar Eng lish commodities are received. But England has profited very little by the preference given In the markets of the colonies, and It begins to look as if the colonies would soon or late demand concessions which would In volve England's surrender of the prin ciple of free trade. "While the impor tation of British goods into the Domin ion of Canada has been but slightly Increased by the preference given to them by the Canadian tariff, the im portation, of commodities from the United States, against -which the Cana dian tariff discriminates, has been notably increased. There Is. doubtless a division of opinion in the British colonics, but the weight of public senti ment lies probably with those who have no desire to be represented In the Brit ish Parliament, because such represen tation would be as worthless for them as It has proved for Ireland. Today the British colonies can offer or with hold military assistance to England In her foreign wars, such as she is now waging In South Africa, but if they were today represented in the British Parliament they would practically have no more voice In the matter than Ire land, which is always outvoted. The public sentiment of Canada Is always likely to favor their present actual au tonomy, which includes the right of op tion to participation in England's wars. "With such autonomy and right of op tion retained, the British colonies pos sess something of substantial value which might be used to exact prefer ence for their food products of grain, flour and meat in the English markets. It is, of course, entirely unlikely that any political party in England at pres ent would consent to grant the colonies a preference so marked that It would bar out the grain, flour and meat prod ucts of the United States, because such a concession would be imposing a seri ous burden upon tho British working man, because it would, by cutting down our power of selling to England, cut down our power of buying from Eng land. The United States Is the best customer of the British manufacturer and his dependent operatives, and Eng land could not afford to curtail the United States market for British man ufactures to meet the wishes of her colonies. But a far more serious con sequence to England's industrial popu lation would be the rise In the price of food, which would surely follow the concession of a decided preference to colonial products in the English mar ket. England, therefore, will never grant, in return for the aid of small colonial contingents, concessions which will Increase the price of the neces saries of life. It Is not easy to predict with accu racy the fate of the impending scheme of imperial federation, but it is highly Improbable that either of the British colonies would surrender their present situation of autonomy, including the right of option to render military as sistance to England in her foreign wars, for anything less than concessions which England could not afford to grant. The height of the late Porto Rico tariff agitation was perhaps in Indi ana. There a Republican Congressional Convention or two took decided ground against the bill, and the party was generally understood to be strongly opposed to It. Predictions' were nu merous that the state would bo lost to the Republicans; but there are now evidences that the Porto Rico excite ment Is a forgotten incident. All the Republican Congressmen who voted for the bill were renominated, and the Re publican State Convention indorsed all legislation enacted for the insular pos sessions. Last week there were local elections throughout the state. The re turns show Republican gains In eleven towns and Democratic in four. It 13 not likely that the action of Congress and the President will cut a figure in Indiana or anywhere else. "While the continuance of cold, rainy weather is depressing in many ways, it reduces the probability of a flood in the Columbia and a dreaded "back-up" of water above the docks In this city to the minimum. Crops along the Colum bia bottoms are said to be unusually promising, and the postponement of the rise in waters for a few weeks, even if it comes later, means many thousand dollars in hay to dairymen and in early vegetables to market gardeners. Re membering this, we should be able to keep up the unreasonable fires In our grates, and prepare for showers upon going out, cheerfully. The Mitchell-McBrlde "push" is busy sending emissaries all over the state to "fix" Republican candidates for the Legislature. Reports are that they are L accomplishing little or nothing. No .nepuDiican can aiiora to tie nimseit up to the little Senator in advance, be cause of the certain embarrassments to follow in his campaign, growing out of the general desire and purpose to have another than McBrlde at "Wash ington. Captain Greenleaf is In mighty poor business when he personally attacks Captain McDonell's military record. Just another break or two like that and the incumbent Assessor will be out of the running. The public has an old fashioned notion that courtesy and common decency are necessary qualifi cations in a candidate. Sheep husbandry was never more prosperous In Oregon than at the pres ent time. Heavy fleeces and good prices for wool, and a net increase of 100 per cent In flocks should, it would seem, put the sheepowner in condition to scalp the festive coyote and thus protect his flocks without the aid of a scalp-bounty law. Before the Methodist weeklies retire from business they might try the ex periment of calling on the inspired Edi tor Sheldon to run them as they should be run. Obviously, they must have departed from the straight and narrow path. After all, the milch-feared wind did not blow down the Populist tent at Sioux Falls. A very potent counter irritant was spouting beneath the am ple dimensions of the canvas. DECIiIXE OP THE SENATE. MItlEnxtlnfr Circumstance to Be Taken Into Consideration. New Tork Tribune. Ex-Speaker Reed Is credited with the saying that a statesman is a dead poli tician. That is half of the philosophy of the alleged decadence" of the Senate. The other half may be attributed to envy and partisanship. "Webster, Clay, Calhoun and Benton are dead and a tradition. Hoar, Frye, Davis. Cullom and Allison are liv ing. But it cannot fairly be said that there Is .not as much statesmanship dis playedin public ' measures and as much ability and patriotism devoted to their study as In the days of golden memory. Anybody who reads the debates of the earlier times can hardly fall to be Im pressed with the fact that for the most part their wonderful ability Is largely a matter of tradition. Many of the speeches were shallow and Ignorant. There was more buncombe and less accurate knowl edge displayed in dealing with important questions. Calhoun, with his keen intel lect was almost a miracle of narrow mindedness. Clay led a great party with Ideas of political science and international statesmanship which would have been laughed down except that the great body of his fellow-citizens, enemies and friends had cruder notions than himself. The men who lead the Senate today are sounder students of government, wiser political economists and patriots pf equal honesty. Probably when they are dead .they will not fill so large a place on the horizon as their predecessors. Senators of 50 years ago seemed greater to their contemporar ies than our Senators do to us, because It was an age of eloquence and reporting of eloquence, while today newspapers give comparatively little attention to debates. The public was more impressionable by leaders then than now. The whole coun try was like some back rural districts and parts of the South now. Politics formed Us principal amusement and intellectual exercise. Interests are more varied today. Business and society occupy more atten tion, and the greatest of men subtends a much smaller angle than he would have done, half a century ago. Politics to us i a much smaller part of life than to our fathers, and we should not take even a "Webster as seriously as they did. Per haps we are none the better for that, but the fact explains why as we look over their accounts of the statesmen they hon ored we wonder how It happens that we do not honor our statesmen in the same degree. Times have changed, and we ought not to-blame our statesmen because we have changed with them and learned to apply different standards In our judg ments of men. ORIGIN OP THE INDIAN. Did He Really Come to Thin Conti nent Prom the Orient f Chicago Times-Herald. From Prescott's time and before his torians and archaeologists have been at war over tho origin of American races, but never until recently has the subject been approached with what might be called a truly grand strategy. Through the fund established by Morris K. Jc&up and under the generalship of Professor Putnam divers expeditionary forces are being pushed forward along all sorts of lines against the sites of ancient villages and solitary moundo to prove or disprove the Asiatic theory. It Is an uncommonly lively time for Indian skulls and skele tons. One of tho expeditions is that of Har lan L Smith, of the American Museum of Natural History, whose field of operations Is in British Columbia, and we find a re port of his first season's ,work In the new and Interesting periodical. Monumental Records. The Investigations were carried on at a burial place and village site be tween the canyons of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers, near Lytton, where .there was a great abundance of prehis toric material, and the results so far, we should eay, are not very favorable to the Asiatic connection. There Is, apparently, much difficulty in determining even ap proximately the age of the relics, but from tho earliest to the latest they denote a continuity of race, manners and cus toms. Indeed, it Is probable that the na tives of today are much as their earliest predecessors were. "One of the strongest evidences for tho Identity of culture Is the ability of the modern Indians to in terpret the conventional designs found on prehistoric remains." The influence of the Coast tribes is seen in certain carvings and utensils, but there Is nothing to indicate that the origin of the people was among those tribes. "On the whole, tho prehistoric culture of the Interior of British Columbia shows greater affinity to that of the western plateaus than to that of the North Pacific Coast." The permanence of the type substan tially as It Is now, would, of course, dis pose of the Idea of a higher civilization which la so fascinating to the student of Indian remains further southward. Those first Columbians were apparently a very crude lot, not much advanced beyond the Stone age. "We notice several references to copper ornaments and one reference to a copper warclub. but It Is clear that the people were not workers in metal, and that they lived on berries and roots and fish like the other animals. Probably they are much more agreeable In their ancient graves than they would have been in life, and It is good for the white man that his burden consists In digging them, up In stead of knocking them down. "WHEAT PRODUCTION. Demand. Constantly Keeps Pace "With Added Snpply. New York Journal of Commerce. The statistician of the Department of Agriculture computes the wheat crops of the world for the past five years as Xol lows: Bushels. 1 Bushels. 1SS5 2.546.494,G00i'lS33 2.92L045.000 1SS5. 2.4SS.349.0001S93 2.72J.407.000 1S97. 233.637.0001 In spite of fluctuations, the upper ten dency of production Is plain. The crop of 1S3S was much the largest in the series, but the crop of 1SS9 was larger than any of the three crops before 1SSS. The aver age of the first two crops Is 2.517.421.500, and of the last two crops 2,823,226,000 bush els. This Is an increase of 205,504.500 bush els In an average period of three years. Some of the European authorities have been In the habit of estimating the nor mal increase in the demand for wheat at 2.000.000 quarters (16,000.000 bushels) per jtnnum. This would make the increased demand in three years 4S,000,000 bushels, against an increased production of more than six times that. But the demand for wheat Is elastic, and It increases not only with the increase of population, with tho increased ability of the population to supply Itself with abundant food. In the first place, and with the more palatable or nutritious kinds of food. In tho second place. The estimate that the demand grows 16,000,000 bushels a year Is based upon the Increase of population In the wheat-eating coun tries, but this leaves out of view two oth er factors; one is the Increase and the other Is the Improvement of the dietary of the masses of population in the civil ized world. "Whether the farm and indus trial population of the United States has much changed its eating habits In the last few years may bo open to doubt, but that it has changed since the early part of the century Is certain. "We have sta tistics from England, France, Germany and Belgium showing, during the last 25 and 50 years, a substantial Increase in the amount of food consumed and in the quality of it. Increased quantities of meat, milk, butter and wheat, and decreases, relative or absolute, of rye and potatoes. The population of the civilized world Is Increasing its consumption of wheat not only in proportion to Its Increase in num bers, but also in proportion to Its Increase in buying ability. The estimates of the annual increment in the demand for wheat will have to be revised upwards. A Typical Boer Spy. Scrlbner's Monthly. One man in particular, a German called Muller, lived out beyond the Guards' camp on the way to Jacobsdal. He was a very useful person, because he supplied us each morning with milk and eggs, and we should have been very sorry to lose him. But that he was a thoroughpaced scorjndrel who gave Information to the Boers at the same time he was selling torage to tne uritisn Government and eggs to the correspondents at equally ex orbitant rates. I have not the slightest doubt. A few days after the battle oJ Magersfontein four Boers were seen ridlnjr away from his farm in the morning, and yet he Is still at large; and he was only one among many who could easily procure information In camp and retail it to Gen eral Cronje. And as though Nature might weep to cover our advance, we certainly took no mean advantage of the Boer by concealing our movements In other ways. Extremes In Dress. Cleveland Plain Dealer. "That pretty Miss Reckless is an eccen tric dresser." , "I should say she was! "Why. she came to tho club masqujzade the other evening wearing a gown tuat was cut rainy-day at Dotn encs: ' TBIRTY-FOUEYEARSQFDEMOGRACY "What It Has Deae, and. Net Dene, f er the Coantry Slaee Bscbusa. Pendleton Tribune. It Is an axiomatic fact that from the organization of the Republican party in 1S56 down to the present time the American people nave enjoyed the great est measure of prosperity under Repub lican rule. Under Buchanan, the Treas ury was depleted. On January 8, 1S61, In a special message to Congress, President Buchanan said: The public distress becomes more and more aggravated. As an evidence of this It Is only necessary to say that the Treasury notes au thorized by act of December 17 last were ad vertised according to law, and no responsible bidder offered to take any considerable sum at par at a lower rate of interest than 12 per cent. Despite the trying times which followed the "War of the Rebellion, the country gradually prospered under Republican con trol until we were confronted with an overflowing Treasury and a credit second to no country on earth. On the accession of Democracy in 1SS4 the leaders of that party found themselves embarrassed from too large a surplus In the Treasury. Threatened radical changes In the fiscal law and the possibility of resort to the free coinage of silver soon dissipated the surplus. Grover Cleveland's first administration was preceded by the four years of Presi dents Garfield and Arthur, during wh'.cn the business of the country wa3 so pros perous and the Income of the Govern ment so large that the public debt was reduced $4S7,42D,2S0, being a yearly reduc tion of $124,357,312. The Interest on the debt was at the same time reduced J31, 707,542, a yearly reduction of $7,32S,bS7. The Morrill tariff bill was then la full operation, and our currency was on a gold standard. In the year 1SS3 Congress passed an act to reduce the duties on foreign Imports, and Important reductions were made dn a largo number of articles. As a. result of this reduction, together with the de moralization attendant upon the election of a tariff reformer as President and a Congress that was In favor of lowering the duties still more, the revenues were so reduced that during Mr. Cleveland's administration, from 1SS4 to 1SSS, the pay ments on the public debt amounted to only $276,041,350, an average of $.010,337 per year, but a little more than half that paid by the previous Administration. During the administration of Presidents Garfield and Arthur every kind of busi ness was active, prices of all products were good, the Industries were all In a state of great prosperity, our trade with foreign countries was larger than In any previous period in the history of the coun try, and our currency was increasing both In volume and In value. President Cleveland's message to the 50th Congress, xlated December 6, 1SS7, was devoted almost exclusively to the discussion of the surplus revenue In the Treasury and to suggesting means of getting rid of that surplus. President Harrison found no difficulty in disposing of the surplus in the Treas ury, for during his administration the public debt was reduced $363,433,170. a year ly reduction of $31,373,232. These figures show that during Mr. Harrison's admin istration there was SS3.451.820 more paid on the public debt than there was dur ing Mr. Cleveland's administration, an an nual average of $22,362,955. This occurred while the McKInley tariff bill took the du ties off from sugar and placed on the free list a large number of articles which are not produced in this country, thus reduc ing the revenues about $40,000,000 a year. During the first three years of Mr. Cleveland's second administration the public debt. Instead of being decreased at the rate of t $91,373,000 a year, as It aver aged during the last three years of Mr. Harrison's administration, had actually been Increased over $272,377,000. an annual average of nearly $S7,O0O,0O0. This Increase of the public debt was due solely to Mr. Cleveland's tariff reform policy, which cut down the revenue to such an extent that there were not funds enough to pay tho current expenses of the Government, and bonds had to be sold to get money to meet the deficiency. During the last two years of Mr. Har rison's administration, under the McKInley tariff, no country on this planet ever flourished as did this. All of our Indus tries were active, our exports and Im ports wero the largest ever known, our crops were abundant, prices were good, foreign capital was coming Into the coun try by hundreds of millions every year, and foreign emigrants by the shipload al most weekly. After a session of Congress which lasted for nearly one year a session which for the first time since the war the Demo cratic party had under Its control both houses of Congress and the executive only two bills of any importance were passed. The "Wilson tariff bill was passed and a bill to repeal the Federal election laws was also passed. The first Monday in September was: made a legal holiday. All bills for the benefit of the veterans with few exceptions were promptly killed, notwithstanding the outrageous course of the Pension Office In depriving old vet erans of their rights under the law. No appropriation was made for public Im provements excepting In the river and harbor bill. Not a dollar had been appro priated for the further Increase of the Navy. That was the work of the first Democratic Congress since the war; a Congress In which the Democrats had a majority of nearly 100 In the House and a clear working majority without the Pop ulists In the Senate, and had all branches of the executive department. The legislation that was passed during the session was characterized by Grover Cleveland as standing for "party perfidy and party dishonor," and In the language of the Democratic chairman of the House committee of ways and means stood for a "corrupt sale to the sugar trust." After carefully reviewing the history of the two parties, 13 it not necessary, then, that every patriotic citizen should take sober thought of the situation, and deter mine solemnly In his own mind whethet It Is not his Imperative duty to vote for the men and the party whose names are the synonyms of prosperity for Oregon and for the entire country? It has been well said that behind McKInley are the thrift, the providence, the Industry, the brains, the Intelligence and the honor of the country. Behind Bryan are the dis content, the unthrlft, the improvidence, the paternalism, socialism, the anarchism and the dishonor of the country. Can any man -who has hl3 own best In terests at heart afford to vote to take the Government out of the hands of the only party through whose management the country has found prosperity? A vote for any man on the Democratic ticket at the forthcoming election is a step In that di rection. First of all consider y6ur dutj as an American citizen. Irish Tribute to the Qneen. London Daily News. The unconscious humor of the Irishman still lives. Last week, says a correspond ent, a friend of mine was sitting In Phoe nix Park, when to him appeared a ragged old chap, most gloriously Intoxicated. God save the Queen, son said he to my friend. "Certainly," was the reply. "God save Queen Victoria!" reiterated the old fellow. "By all means. Send her vic torious, happy and glorious!" "Thit's "right, sort I wish she came to Dublin every year, every month, every day. sor! Think of what she has done for the coun- thry; think of all the good she does to people. "Why, look at me; here am I, as drunk as h 1, and never paid a penny for It!" The Popular Jolce. Chicago Times-Herald, Ind. The most popular Joke of the Say In Washington Is like this: "Well, there Is one thing that can be said la Dewey's favor. If he is President he will not be ruled by Hanna." "No, I believo that is not the lady's Christian name." K0TE AND COMMENT. ' -k ' Got any 'lection cards? ., "Why don't you register today? Mr. Corbett to Mr. Fitzslmmons Please pass the crow. ' , , Mr. Rudyard Kipling Is not acandldata for Vice-President. Chadwlck has given out no intimation that he is even sorry he spoke." The most expensive cigars made cost $3 each. Ask your candidate for one. 'Even the man who Is sure he will win In a walk always runs for an office. A nomination in Philadelphia Is worth two in Sioux Falls and Kansas City. Agulnaldo had no idea that McKInley would go to the length of recalling Otis. It Is said that Colorado Republicans have deserted tho silver cause. "What sil ver cause? McKInley Is so strong that he has no difficulty in carrying the heaviest Republi can states. A Japanese poet was executed in Yoko hama the other day. The Japanese cure a, peace-loving people. If Corbett's finish you would heed, The lesson taught Is plain; If atflrst you don't succeed. Don't try again. It Is safe to say that the Populist tick et will not be supported by, the women. They ore always running down Towne. It Is said that since Bryan announced his Intention of preserving silence for-two months, he has received such flattering offers from museum managers that he Is thinking of retiring from politics. Tou Are out, Corbett, "Way out. Tou hava lived To see yourself a dead, one. That Is what. The lobster Is a giant In intellect and , Savvy alongside Of you. j Didn't you. you clam, . Know that Jeff Vv'ould play with you A while, And then compose Tour features on Tho sawdust-covered floor, As one who meets The Wintry wind from off The Chllcoot Pass, And straight becomes, t 'in fact, S The Ice man? Old John L. Was not a man iof culture; Ho could not Translate from Sanskrit "What the ancients wrote. Nor yet could he Solve problems by the means Caculus. He even said "I done It," and "Seer But he knew When he was Licked. Thaf3 more than Tou do. Tou are a has-been, An also-ran. v Maybe If you will tread the boards "With industry ' Tou can make Dick Mansfield jealous. ft- And can scare Nat Goodwin Off the stage; But you can't Fight, See? A CHANCE FOR BRYAN. ; Let Illm Go to Brazil, Where Sis Services are Seeded. Chicago Times-Herald. The Republic of Brazil is now in a con dition very similar to that of many Ameri can actors and actresses it is In Immediate need of tho assistance of' a bankruptcy act. "When the Brazilian Empire was over thrown In 1SS9 the claims of foreign bond holders amounted to $$131,340,995. This for eign debt has since been Increased to $209, 173,362, and the Internal debt Is reported to have swelled even more rapidly. The revenue, which In 1800 was $122,076,415, has been steadily decreasing until in 1899 it amounted to less than $49,000,000. with run ning expenses more than $12,000,000 in ex cess of receipts. Npw it Is proposed by tho official finan ciers of Brazil to strike a balance by sus pending the payment of Interest on the foreign debt, but even If that can be done It Is going to be troublesome for the Bra zilians to keep out of hot water. A con cern that does a business amounting to $49,000,000 a year can't afford to run behind $12,OCO,000 per annum for any great length of time, even with the most lenient of creditors. Wo can see only one way out of It for Brazil. She must secure the services of Mr. Bryan. If Brazil can induce the great apostle of silver to transfer his sacred ratio to that country, thus making each of the dollars In circulation there as good as two under existing conditions, the danger that threatens may be averted. It will perhaps be contended that even with Mr. Bryan's system In operation the doubling process would have to be ex tended to the money paid out as well as applied to that taken In by the govern ment, but let us not argue over this point. The Important thing now Is to get Mr. Bryan Interested In Brazil. That coun try needs him and hl3 theory. He" may bo unable to do Brazil any real good. It may not be any easier for a man to lift himself by the straps of his boots In Brazil than In this country, but no mat ter. Let him go down there and try It anyway. Brazil will be a good country for him to practice on. There would 'be no danger of hurting it much, whatever happened. Electing: United States Senators. Chicago Tribune. The House Joint resolution for the sub mission of an amendment to the Consti tution allowing the voters to elect Sena tors direct, has been referred to the com mittee on privileges and elections of tha Senate. There it will slumber. But what has Just happened in two Southern states shows that where favorable conditions exist the election of a Senator is practic ally In the hands of the voters, with the Constitution as It is. The question wheth er Senator Morgan, of Alabama, shall succeed himself or give way to Governor Johnstone, was referred for decision to the legislative primaries, which have Just been held. They were well attended, and the Senator carried every county. As the Legislature will be Democratic he Is sure of re-election. Representative Bailey of Texas desires to go to the Senate In place of Senator Chilton, who would like to stay where he Is. Both gentlemen chose the legislative primaries as their battle-ground. At the primaries thus far held, the popular will has been expressed so unmistakably In favor of Mr. Bailey that Senator Chilton has decided to give up the contest. In Texas, as In Alabama, the merits of rival candidates were dis cussed fully before the people, and they picked out the man they preferred. Tha members of the Legislature will simply register the verdict of the voters. It Is not surprising that Senators from sucn states should not believe a change In the method of electing Senators Is needful. There are states, however, where an ex pression of the popular will cannot be had at legislative primaries so easily as in Alamaba or Texas. There are states where "the organization" bosses the pri maries, and the people do not, and the choice of a Senator Is out of the reach of the latter. Those are the states whose citizens might gain by a change In th mode of electing Senators.